Homeless Charlie Jarman-Gower was battered to the ground and beaten unconscious by thugs who stole his beloved dog.

Big Issue seller Mr Jarman-Gower is distraught his five-year-old Jack Russell Freya'h was snatched from him as he lay motionless on the ground.

Freya'h is a popular character with the homeless community, police and traders who know Mr Jarman-Gower.

The attack happened on Friday night as Mr Jarman-Gower smoked a roll-up cigarette in the Old Steine area near St James's Street, Kemp Town, Brighton.

He said: "I admit I had had a few drinks but I wasn't off my face or anything.

"These guys came up to me and demanded my dog. Then they began punching me."

Mr Jarman-Gower, who often sells the Big Issue outside Asda at Hollingbury, fell unconscious from the blows.

He remembers two ambulance staff helping him and offering to take him to hospital but he refused.

Freya'h, which means Goddess of the Forest, was nowhere to be seen and there have been no sightings since.

The attack has been reported to police who are treating it as robbery.

Mr Jarman-Gower, who has had Freya'h since she was four weeks old, said the attackers were not people living on the streets but he hopes those who know Freya'h will recognise her and they will be reunited.

He said: "I really miss her. I miss her like you wouldn't believe."

Freya'h even joined Mr Jarman-Gower in St Patrick's Hostel in Cambridge Road, Hove, where he has lived for the past two years.

Barry Williams, who has traded in Brighton for 37 years and runs a fireplace shop on the corner of Tidy Street, said: "Charlie is known by a lot of people and traders in the town and they like him.

He is a really nice chap."

Freya'h has just had her hair cut and is short-legged with a long tail, a white body with a brown head and black spots above her eyes. She has black spots on her belly.

Anyone who knows her whereabouts can contact St Patrick's Hostel or First Base Day Centre in Montpelier Place, Brighton.